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Irish Regulator Probes Elon Musk’s X for Possible Breach of EU Digital Rules

By  |  November 12, 2025

Ireland’s media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X, citing concerns that the company is not adequately responding to user reports about illegal content, according to Bloomberg.

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    The regulator, Coimisiún na Meán, announced on Wednesday that it will examine whether X has breached the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to take stronger action against unlawful or harmful material. The inquiry will also look into whether X has properly informed users of their rights under the DSA when it comes to reporting and appealing content moderation decisions.

    John Evans, the digital services commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán, said in a statement that user rights are central to the EU’s digital rulebook. “The right of a user to report content that is illegal or against a platform’s terms and conditions, and the right to appeal a platform’s decision, is a cornerstone of the DSA,” he wrote. The regulator said its concerns were supported by HateAid, a nonprofit group that previously took legal action against X on behalf of a researcher in Berlin who was repeatedly banned from the site.

    Read more: Ireland Launches Probe into X Over AI Data Practices in the EU

    Per Bloomberg, this marks the first formal investigation under the DSA by the Irish authority. The move underscores growing regulatory pressure on major online platforms operating in Europe, particularly X, which has been repeatedly scrutinized for its handling of hate speech, misinformation, and transparency obligations.

    European regulators have been tightening enforcement of the DSA since it took effect, and X’s designation as a “very large online platform” — meaning it serves more than 45 million users — places it under stricter accountability standards. The European Commission, which acts as the DSA’s chief enforcer, launched its own investigation into X in 2023 over its approach to managing harmful content, Bloomberg reported.

    While the European Commission oversees compliance by large platforms, specific elements of the DSA — such as the mechanism for reporting illegal content — are regulated by the national authority in the EU country where a company is headquartered. Ireland, home to the European bases of major tech firms like Meta Platforms Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc., now plays a key role in enforcing these rules against global tech giants.

    Source: Bloomberg